Rosholt looking for 5th consecutive CWC girls title; Falcons running for 1st crown The Rosholt High girls cross country team is without its senior leader from last year but returns four of its first five finishers at last year's state meet. The Hornets, who have won four straight Central Wisconsin Conference titles, will compete without Jen Zdroik, who finished 17th at the WIAA state championships last year as a senior. But even without Zdroik, Rosholt returns junior Tami Scott, the team's No. 1 runner for much of last season. "She ran more this summer than any previous summer and she wants to go," Rosholt coach Mike Trzebiatowski said. "She's probably more fit this year." Zdroik's younger sister, freshman Jackie, is expected to be the team's No. 2 runner. Junior Lisa Yenter and sophomores Nicky Bembenek, Jackie Yenter and Lindsey Peplinski will probably battle for the team's third through sixth spots. All four ran at the state meet a year ago, where Rosholt finished sixth. Sophomore Kelly Zdroik is back from last year's team while senior Gesa Mueller, an exchange student from Germany, and sophomore Sheena Omernik are running for Rosholt for the first time. The Hornets open their season Tuesday at the Wittenberg-Birnamwood Invitational. "It would be nice to be able to win their fifth conference title in a row," Trzebiatowski said. "Hopefully we could be able to get another team to state and get back to the top six. "Hopefully we'll be able to pull together halfway through the year." Trzebiatowski said Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Amherst are teams in contention for the CWC title. "We can't run on the past, we have to build off the past," he said. "We have to keep hammering out the miles and keep persistent and we'll be OK." Amherst With three legitimate front runners, the Falcons have a shot at bringing home their first girls cross country conference title. Amherst already had seniors Jane Ovanin and Samantha Diver back after the two qualified for the state meet as individuals a year ago. But the Falcons added an exchange student from Finland, senior Salla Pulli. Pulli didn't waste any time proving she was for real, tying the course record (15:44) while winning Tuesday's Iola-Scandinavia Invitational. "We're going to try to win the conference meet for the first time. That's our goal," Amherst coach Rob Sparhawk said. "It's going to be tight. "With Jane, Sam and Salla, we should have three solid front runners. That's what we're counting on to get us through the meets." Ovanin, the 1998 state champion in the 3,200-meter run, was seventh Tuesday in 17:27. Diver, who finished 12th at the state meet last year, finished eighth (17:43). Freshman Brittney Dick (19th in 19:26), senior Jenny Dombrowski (20th in 19:36), junior Meghan Harvey (21st in 19:43) and Karen Ehr (28th in 20:30) will be in the mix for varsity, as well as senior Leah Hunter. Sparhawk said Rosholt and Wittenberg-Birnamwood are the teams in the running with Amherst for the conference championship. The Falcons finished second with 55 points to Division 2 Oconto Falls (46) Tuesday. Wittenberg-Birnamwood was third with 57. "We're looking to do well," Sparhawk said. Pacelli The Cardinals, in their first year in the WIAA, currently have five runners and will be led by junior Katie Hansel. "She's asking to do more. You don't have that too often," said new Pacelli coach Kim Olson, who is taking over the team from her husband, Tim. "She's a hard worker and she wants to do well." Sophomore Angela Peters is also back from last year's team and was on the sixth-place 3,200-meter relay team at last spring's WISAA state track meet. Sophomore Amber Bemowski, Olson's younger sister, returns. Sophomore Jenna Pliska and freshman Beth Boden are the team's two newcomers. Olson said the team hopes to improve as the season goes along. The Cardinals open their season Saturday at the Marshfield Columbus Invitational and host the Central Wisconsin Conference meet at Iverson Park, Thursday, Oct. 12. "I think it will be a challenge," Olson said of joining the CWC and the WIAA. "We'll see what we're really made of."